The NFL and fantasy landscapes change quickly these days, so if you have a draft strategy, it had better be year-specific. I have already done several mock and real drafts for various publications, and the 2013 trends are pretty clear – so they dominate the following 10 draft tips.

Try to hold off a little before drafting a QB – To summarize the best 2013 draft approach in a word, it’s “patience,” and that specifically applies to the QB position. Just 2-3 years ago, I was all about getting as many impact players as possible, regardless of position, and QB was a big part of that approach. After the passing game bonanza that we saw in 2011, you’d think that I’d be all over the signal-callers as rock-solid early picks. I do still believe in the BPA approach (best player available), and the top QBs are almost always safe and extremely productive options. But in 2013, it doesn’t make nearly as much sense taking a QB early as it did even just one year ago. There are many paths to a championship, and there’s nothing wrong with using a No.1 pick on Aaron Rodgers, or a 2nd-round snag of Drew Brees. […]

I did another mock draft last night, this one for Lindys magazine, which will be on newsstands in roughly 6-8 weeks. I cannot post the whole draft, but I can quickly review my picks with some thoughts. As usual, I lost interest toward the end and stopped crossing guys off my list, but it was a pretty solid draft, nevertheless.

This was a 12-team mock, non-PPR, 6 points for rushing/receiving TDs and 4 points for passing TDs. I had the 3rd overall pick.

1st round – I took Ray Rice over LeSean McCoy even though it’s a non-PPR and McCoy scored 20 TDs. I don’t think McCoy comes close to that number this year, whereas Rice scored 15 TDs and had more rushing and receiving yards in 2011.

2nd round – Looking for impact players, I gladly take Jimmy Graham, who I apparently reached for in the previous draft at 12 overall.

3rd round – Still looking for studs, preferably young ones, I took A.J. Green over Michael Vick, who I felt had a chance to slip to me in the 4th (missed him by one pick).

4th round – I don’t want to get pinched at QB, so I grabbed the usually reliable Tony […]

In case you missed it, as first reported yesterday by our guy Adam Caplan for Scout.com, the Eagles yesterday extended QB Kevin Kolb through the 2011 season.

Let me say for the record right now that we’re very high on Kolb’s fantasy value in 2010. Being from the Philly area, we’re at an advantage in that we’re very knowledgable when it comes to the team. And not only that, Mr. Caplan regularly attends Eagle practices. Our own Joe Dolan worked for the Eagles in their media department in 2008 as an on-air talent and reporter, so he’s all over the Eagles as well. I am, of course, very familiar with the team, since it’s the local team in my area. But we’re not “fans” or “homers” as we’re sometimes accused of. In fact, the Eagles weren’t even “my team” growing up, and they still aren’t. Truth be told, I’ve always kind of disliked them, mainly due to the obnoxious segment of their fan base (it’s not everyone, but I’ve spent time in the old 700 level at Vet, and it was pretty scary/comical up there). But over the last decade, I have come to respect how they do business, and how […]

I’m a little behind breaking these out, but I did want to wait until the bulk of the free agent action took place. I’ll be busting my ass to offer similar overviews for RB, WR, and TE in the next 4-5 days. My goal’s to have them all up by next Wednesday, so we can move on to the NFL Draft and our pre-draft rookie stuff.

Here’s my take on the QB landscape for those in keeper leagues:

Given his youth, supporting cast, and what he's shown so far Packer QB Aaron Rodgers is about as appealing as it gets at the QB position for those in keeper leagues

The QB position in the NFL isn’t exactly bursting with young talent, so if you have a stud like Drew Brees (31), Peyton Manning (34), Aaron Rodgers (26), or Philip Rivers (28), then you’re doing really well at this position in your keeper or dynasty league. If you’re in a dynasty league or don’t have any restrictions in terms of the number of years you can keep a player, Rodgers (who will be 27 in December) and Rivers (who will be 29 in December) may […]

It’s already magazine time for us, and while we’re not putting out a ton of content right now, that doesn’t mean we’re sitting around the office watching clips on YouTube or checking our Facebook pages.

Okay, maybe we are a little.

Most of the time, we’re working on content for our 2009 magazine. We’re trying to get as much done as possible before the draft because, once that occurs, we’re in serious Magazine Mode and our deadline comes quickly. This year, we’ll be publishing the magazine a little earlier than usual, so we should have a good amount of 2009 content up in just 4-5 weeks. By the end of May, we’ll have the entire print magazine up on the site, and we’ll be rolling big time with a ton of content.

It’s still a little tough, however, to formulate strong opinions on players and team because the draft is a big part of the puzzle, and teams are still signing free agents (and making trades). We’re not totally clear on things like how the OLs are shaping up, and we don’t know a ton about player roles in those cases in which they’re up in the air. I also haven’t studied the […]

I recently completed my first ever MFL10 with subscribers and Twitter followers. I’m using MFL10s to get draft practice and to get an early feel for where players could be drafted later this summer. I’ve also done an industry draft – you can call it an “expert draft” if you’d like – so I’m already two […]

The long-rumored and predicted rule change in the NFL passed at the owners’ meetings this week – extra points are officially moving from the two-yard line to the 15, changing them from the near-automatic equivalent of a 19-yard field goal to a 33-yard kick. If a team wants to attempt a two-point conversion, the ball […]

I recently finished up a #MFL10 draft that I put together with some of my followers on Twitter, a practice that Tom Brolley, Matt Camp, and I will be continuing throughout the summer with our friends at MyFantasyLeague. It’s a great way to scratch your fantasy itch early, and to shake off some rust and […]